Free Oscar screenings at National Archives start Wednesday

Entrance to The U.S. National Archives for free Oscar screenings is on Constitution Avenue at Seventh/Patricia Leslie

For the eighth consecutive year, Oscar nominees in four film categories will be screened at no charge at National Archives from Wednesday through Sunday.

The categories are Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Live Action Short Film, and Animated Short Film, however, the acclaimed Pina documentary feature will not be shown on February 24 as previously announced.

The screenings will be presented in the William G. McGowan Theater by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in partnership with the Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film and the Foundation for the National Archives, located across the street from the ice-skating rink at the National Gallery of Art at the corner of Seventh and Constitution.  (Metro station:  Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter.)

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservations are permitted. All must be present to receive tickets which shall be distributed at the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue, 60 minutes before start time, and doors will open 30 minutes after that.  (I have seen lines form two hours before showtime.)  

Some films may be inappropriate for general audiences.

The hole left by Pina's cut from Friday night will be filled by another screening of the Live Action Short Film Nominees (100 minutes) which will also be shown on Saturday at noon.

Screening schedule (subject to availability)

Documentary Feature Nominees

Wednesday, February 22, 7:00 p.m.

Hell and Back Again

Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner

(88 minutes; unrated)

Thursday, February 23, 7:00 p.m.

Undefeated

TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

(113 minutes; unrated)

Friday, February 24, 7:00 p.m.

Live Action Short Film Nominees (100 minutes) in place of Pina

Pentecost

Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane

(11 minutes; unrated)

Raju

Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren

(24 minutes; unrated)

The Shore

Terry George and Oorlagh George

(30 minutes; unrated)

Time Freak

Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey

(10 minutes; unrated)

Tuba Atlantic

Hallvar Witzø

(25 minutes; unrated)

Documentary Feature Nominees, continued

Saturday, February 25, 7:00 p.m.

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

(105 minutes; unrated)

Sunday, February 26, 4:00 p.m.

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman

(85 minutes; unrated)

Live Action Short Film Nominees

Saturday, February 25, noon.

Pentecost

Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane

(11 minutes; unrated)

Raju

Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren

(24 minutes; unrated)

The Shore

Terry George and Oorlagh George

(30 minutes; unrated)

Time Freak

Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey

(10 minutes; unrated)

Tuba Atlantic

Hallvar Witzø

(25 minutes; unrated)

Total running time: 100 minutes

Animated Short Film Nominees

Saturday, February 25, 3:30 p.m.

Dimanche/Sunday

Patrick Doyon

9 minutes; unrated)

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg

(15 minutes; unrated)

La Luna

Enrico Casarosa

(7 minutes; rated G)

A Morning Stroll

Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe

(7 minutes; unrated)

Wild Life

Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

(14 minutes; unrated)

Total Running Time: 52 minutes.

Documentary Short Subject Nominees

Sunday, February 26, 11:30 a.m.

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement

Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin

(25 minutes; unrated)

God Is the Bigger Elvis

Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson

(37 minutes; unrated)

Incident in New Baghdad

James Spione

(22 minutes; unrated)

Saving Face

Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

(40 minutes; unrated)

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

(40 minutes; unrated)

Total Running Time: 164 minutes

The Blue Brothers take 'em high at George Mason

The Blue Brothers Show at George Mason University/Patricia Leslie

 

 

 

The best party in town Saturday night wasn't in D.C., it was in Fairfax, Virginia at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University where a Blue Brothers' revival carried the audience up, up and away for a solid two hours of pure showtime.

Singing, dancing, and partying in the aisles with the performers was the almost-sold-out, mixed-aged crowd who adored Jake (Brad Henshaw, writer and director) and Elwood (Daniel Fletcher) Blues. The "brothers'" cartwheeled across the stage and wowed the audience with the synchronicity of their steps, matching heels backwards in mid-air at one point.  Martha Graham would have been proud of the choreography by Debbie Jenner.

 

The Blues Brothers Show at George Mason University/Patricia Leslie

 

The shimmering Bluettes (Jocasta Almgill, Victoria Ekanoye, and Victoria Goddard) in multiple glittery costumes sang strong backup and gyrated right along with the leads, to the delight of the throng, some of whom dressed the part.

On sax was Derek "Ricky" Mian and playing trumpet, David Mian (relationship?) who showed their stuff all through the night, but especially in the Theme from Dragnet which started Act 2.   

 

The best crowd pleasers seemed to beee King Bee, Riot in Cell Block #9, and Joe Cocker's With a Little Help from My Friends.

Jake Blues (Brad Henshaw) and Rufus Ruffell on guitar perform Joe Cocker's With a Little Help from My Friends/Patricia Leslie

 

 

Blues and soul numbers excelled, but the audience's response to every single number, including an unimaginative arrangement of  Under the Boardwalk, was enthusiastic and loud.  Yes, everyone was happy.

The lighting designer (Tjeerd Hendriks) and technician (Aoife Hendriks, relationship?) were outasite.

 

The Blues Brothers Show in blue at George Mason University/Patricia Leslie

 

The Blues Brothers Show at George Mason University/Patricia Leslie

 

It was a memorable and fantastic show with big bang for the bucks necessary for the tickets, priced much lower and with cheaper (free) parking than a concertgoer finds in the District.

 

The Blues Brothers Show at George Mason University/Patricia Leslie

The Blues Brothers Show at George Mason University/Patricia Leslie

He (?) did Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher/Patricia Leslie

Some members of the Blues Brothers audience came dressed to kill/Patricia Leslie

Their looks are deceiving for they were having a very good time inviting attention outside before the Blues Brothers Show began/Patricia Leslie

 

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National Gallery of Art unveils rare painting by African-American artist

Robert Seldon Duncanson, American, 1821-1872 Still Life with Fruit and Nuts, 1848, oil on board

National Gallery of Art, Washington, gift of Ann and Mark Kington/The Kington Foundation and the Avalon Fund

Just in time for Black History Month is the first painting at the National Gallery of Art by Robert Seldon Duncanson (1821-1872), often called the first African-American artist to enjoy international acclaim.

The painting is Still Life with Fruit and Nuts, a pyramidal design of fruit with smooth surfaces which contrasts with textured nutshells.  It is one of about 12 Duncanson still-lifes known to exist. 

In a statement, Earl A. Powell III, the National Gallery's director, said that the National Gallery of Art had long been searching for one of Duncanson's renderings, and it continues its quest to find one of his landscapes. The National Gallery has a collection of almost 400 works by African-American artists. 

Duncanson, descended from freed Virginia slaves, was born in Seneca County, New York and lived with his father in Canada until he moved to his mother's home near Cincinnati when he was about 20 years old. He painted portraits, copied prints and taught himself the craft. 

 A year after arriving at his mother's, he had three portraits accepted for a Cincinnati exhibition which his family was prohibited from attending because of their ethnicity.

In 1848, the year he painted the National Gallery's new work, Duncanson received a significant commission from a Methodist minister, Charles Avery, the first of several abolitionist patrons who sustained Duncanson throughout his career and helped re-direct the artist to landscape art.

During the Civil War (1861-1865), Duncanson moved to Canada and later to the United Kingdom where his art was well received. During the last years of his life, after he returned to Cincinnati in 1866, he painted some of his greatest pieces. He died in Detroit, and his art was largely forgotten until an exhibition in 1943 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York jump-started his name and works at major American museums, the last show at the Cincinnati Art Museum in 2009.

Associated with the Hudson River School, Duncanson copied the style of Thomas Cole who painted allegorical landscapes. The National Gallery says a Cincinnati exhibition of Cole's famous series of four paintings, The Voyage of Life (1842) likely inspired the black artist. (Cole's are in Gallery 60 and Duncanson's not far away in Gallery 69, both on the Main Floor near the Fourth Street entrance to the Gallery's West Building.) 

The Cole series is hypnotic and raises cascading thoughts: Where have I been and where am I going? And why am I doing it? The series of four paintings can create a fair amount of discomfort as viewers travel their own journeys of life and wonder about their paths, chosen and unchosen. Did it have this effect on Duncanson?

Thomas Cole, American, 1801 - 1848, The Voyage of Life: Childhood, 1842

oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Thomas Cole, 1801-1848, The Voyage of Life: Youth, 1842, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Thomas Cole, 1801 - 1848 The Voyage of Life: Manhood, 1842

oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Thomas Cole, 1801 - 1848, The Voyage of Life: Old Age, 1842, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art,Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

The Duncanson acquisition was made possible by Ann and Mark Kington/The Kington Foundation and the Avalon Fund.

What: Still Live with Fruit and Nuts (1848) by Robert Seldon Duncanson

When: The National Gallery of Art is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday

Where: Gallery 69 at the West Building of the National Gallery of Art between 4th and 7th streets along Constitution Avenue

How much: No charge

Metro stations: Archives, Judiciary Square, Federal Triangle, L'Enfant Plaza and/or ride the Circulator bus with stops at the West Building

For more information: 202-737-4215

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A Lincoln-Douglass debate at Ford's Theatre

Craig Wallace is Frederick Douglass in Necessary Sacrifices at Ford's Theatre/Laura Keene

A serious "conversation" between two American heroes, President Abraham Lincoln (David Selby) and abolitionist Frederick Douglass (Craig Wallace), is occurring nightly through Saturday at Ford's Theatre in a play called Necessary Sacrifices.

It is a world's premiere, written by Richard Hellesen who was commissioned by Ford's to create a play for the celebration of this month's opening of the Center for Education and Leadership located across the street.

Hellesen based his drama on two documented sessions between Lincoln and Douglass.

 David Selby is Abraham Lincoln in Necessary Sacrifices/Laura Keene

Everyone knows who President Lincoln was, but how many are familiar with Mr. Douglass? Not only did he work to abolish slavery, but he was an early supporter of women's rights and in 1848, the only African-American present at the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York.  (The Frederick Douglass home is at 1411 W Street SE in Washington.)

The specific Civil War period in focus for Sacrifices is chiefly August, 1863 and August, 1864. Mr. Douglass is disappointed by the president's policies and tries to convince him that not only is emancipation critical to national health, but the new role of blacks in the U.S. is vital, too.

In dialogue in two acts, the two converse, and the president explains to Douglass the political process and the evolution of public opinion.  Selby's and Wallace's looks, demeanor, and superb acting give undeniable credence to their characters who truly make American history come alive on stage.

Jennifer L. Nelson, the director, writes in program notes that the two Civil War leaders discovered a "common vision" in each other, sharing a "belief in the potential of human beings to be generous of spirit in spite of profound differences." Would that words of yesteryear rang on Capitol Hill today.

Adding to the play's aura is Civil War music and a sad melody composed by John Gromada which is sprinkled throughout the production and expertly played on violin by Thomas Booker or Tony Donaldson, Jr. (depending upon the night of the performance).

The lighting is dramatic (Dan Covey), and the backdrop is a tranquil floor-to-ceiling landscape painting of clouds and sky in heavenly peach, lavender and blue which creates a dichotomy in a time of radical upheaval, where gunfire is sporadically heard in the background to remind all present of war's death and destruction.

Once a portion of the stage with the president's desk and chair move forward, and large white rectangular windows drop, the stage is set (by James Kronzer) for conversation between the two in the president's office.

Makeup by Anne Nesmith is worthy of a Helen Hayes nomination.

It is eerie and remarkable at the same time to sit in Ford's Theatre, to look up at the box where the president and Mrs. Lincoln sat April 14, 1865 the night of his assassination, and realize you are there watching a play about him.

The play is recommended for ages 13 and up. Hurry! On a Monday night, the theatre was packed.  It is easy to see how this play will travel for hundreds of performances.

What: Necessary Sacrifices

When: Every night at 7:30 p.m. now through February 18, 2012

Where: Ford's Theatre, 511 Tenth St, NW, Washington, DC 20004

Admission: Prices begin at $32.20. Check here for possible discounts.

For more information: 202-347-4833

Metro station: Metro Center, Gallery Place, or Archives-Navy Memorial

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'Van Gogh' opens in Philadelphia, the only U.S. venue

Now through May 6, 2012.

Undergrowth with Two Figures, 1890. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. Oil on canvas, 19 1/2 x 39 1/4 inches (49.5 x 99.7 cm). Cincinnati Art Museum, Bequest of Mary E. Johnston

For art museums, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) is a magnet, comparable to The Nutcracker for ballet companies. Expect thousands.

For anyone with the slightest interest in this most famous artist who died at age 37, the Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition is absolutely “must see.” It stunningly illustrates how the mysterious painter changed the course of modern art.

The show focuses on van Gogh's last four years (1886-1890) beginning with his residency in Paris where he met impressionists whose works affected him so acutely, he changed his brushstrokes and moved to bold colors from the greys and somber hues of paintings he created in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Iris, 1889. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. Oil on thinned cardboard, mounted on canvas, 24 1/2 x 19 inches (62.2 x 48.3 cm). National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

In the first gallery visitors will certainly find a cure for the wintertime blues: Portraits of poppies, irises, roses, zinnias, and sunflowers in bright, happy colors are the theme. (After all, said the museum's senior curator, Joseph J. Rishel, van Gogh was a Dutchman who knew a lot about flowers.) 

From there, guests are introduced to the "Blades of Grass" gallery which focuses on the world under van Gogh's feet, and nature which comforted the artist amidst turmoil. ("I...am always obliged to go and gaze at a blade of grass, a pine-tree branch, an ear of wheat, to calm myself," he wrote his sister in 1889.)

Rain, 1889. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. Oil on canvas, 28 7/8 x 36 3/8 inches (73.3 x 92.4 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Henry P. McIlhenny Collection in memory of Frances P. McIlhenny

Landscapes of Arles, Saint-Remy, and Auvers and their horizons figure prominently in another gallery, followed by hidden forests and sunlit dappled scenes.

Undergrowth, 1887. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. Oil on canvas, 13 x 18 1/8 inches (33 x 46 cm); Framed: 20 1/4 x 25 3/8 inches (51.5 x 64.5 cm). Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands

The infrequent inclusion of people are seen at a distance, none close enough to have facial features for they are not so important here.

One side gallery includes examples of prints from Japan, identical to the hundreds owned by van Gogh and his brother, Theo, pieces which influenced Vincent and show up in his paintings, including the last one in the show, Almond Blossom, created to celebrate the arrival of Theo's son, Vincent's namesake, born January 31, 1890, only a half year before his uncle died.

Philadelphia Museum of Art's Senior Curator of European Painting Before 1900, Joseph J. Rishel, in front of van Gogh's Almond Blossom (1890)/Patricia Leslie

It seems like the show includes more than 40 works, perhaps because of the smart layout.   Many are uncommon paintings, borrowed from private collectors and museums around the world: the Art Institute of Chicago, Baltimore Museum of Art, Basel, Carnegie Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Dallas, Dresden, Geneva, Honolulu, London, Madrid, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musee d’Orsay, St. Louis Art Museum, Stockholm, The Hague, the National Gallery of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Phillips Collection, Tokyo, Utrecht, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Zurich, the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the joint co-organizer of the five-year project, with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Sun Life Financial and GlaxoSmithKline were major underwriters.

The press preview drew far more representatives than any recent press event, said museum director, Timothy Rub, which leads to expectations of greater than the 300,000 who came for the last van Gogh show at the museum about 10 years ago, and the one before that in the 1970s when 200,000 visited.

Philadelphia will be the season's national art destination, boasted Mr. Rub and Gail Harrity, museum president.

An audio tour included with the entry price expands the van Gogh experience, and movies about van Gogh and lectures complement the presentation on various dates. (Check the schedule here.)

It’s an easy and comfortable day trip to Philadelphia from Union Station on Amtrak (made more pleasant by a 15% van Gogh discount), and early train reservations reduce costs. (For those who have not traveled recently on Amtrak, there is plenty of leg room, no restrictions on taking food and beverages on board, free Wi-Fi, and the best benefit of all: no security checks, hassles, or long line waits.)

Amtrak stops at Philadelphia's 30th Street station where a short taxi ride of less than $10 can carry passengers to the museum. Hotel discount packages are available, too.

Go before crowds make viewing difficult. Or travel to Ottawa beginning May 25 through September 3 where the exhibition moves to the National Gallery of Canada.

A Pair of Shoes, 1887. Vincent Willem van Gogh, Dutch, 1853 ‑ 1890. oil on canvas, 12 7/8 x 16 5/16 inches (32.7 x 41.5 cm). The Baltimore Museum of Art: The Cone Collection

What: Van Gogh Up Close

When: Now through May 6, 2012, every day except Monday (exceptions: February 20 and April 30), open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. – 8:45 p.m., Friday, and 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (until 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday beginning April 7 through May 6)

Where: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia 19130

Admission: $25 (adults); $22 (seniors; age not specified); $20 (students and youth, ages 13-18); $12 (children, 5-12); and under age 5 and members, no charge.

Getting there from Washington: Amtrak (please see above) or take a bus (not the Chinatown!), car, or plane

Tickets: 215-235-7469 (service charge added) or online

For more information:  215-763-8100 or visitorservices@philamuseum.org.

TOP DEAL__Save on Cancun Vacations
 

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Aznar's reign in Spain at GWU

Former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar/Patricia Leslie


Maybe it was a long plane ride.

Or he had just landed at Dulles and had jet lag.

Or had eaten Italian and was drowsy from dinner.

Whatever it was or is, the former prime minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar who spoke at George Washington University last week, had little life in him when he addressed a group of mostly 150 students to talk about Iraq and terrorism at an event sponsored by the International Affairs Society and the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Maybe that’s the way he always is: lethargic. He would not make it as a candidate here.

But he is not a candidate here.

Okay, he was a candidate in Spain, a successful candidate, and perhaps flash is not important to Spanish voters. Whatever...

Former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar/Patricia Leslie

“Politics is about making things happen…not sitting…,” Aznar said.

“The world is not a perfect place.” Leadership is exercising power with imperfect information. Making decisions, taking action.  “Leadership and popularity rarely go together.”

It’s “essential to know what you believe in.” 

Iraq is now “a working nation, self-sufficient with pluralistic institutions that perform well.” (?)

“Islam can be and should be made compatible with Democratic practices.”

America is not looking at Europe any more. Europe has good relations with the U.S., but Europe is no longer a U.S priority, he said.

 Former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar/Patricia Leslie

Aznar served as prime minister of Spain from 1996-2004 and elected not to seek a third term. He strongly supported the Bush administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq against the will of the majority (92%, Wikipedia) of Spanish citizens and many Spanish politicians. Wikipedia says Aznar told the Spanish people in a television interview that he had evidence of "weapons of mass destruction," and they should trust him.   (Spain pulled all its troops from Iraq in 2004.  Eleven Spanish soldiers died in Iraq including seven on the same day, November 29, 2003.)

 Aznar was the subject of a car bomb attack in 1995.

The euro? (Aznar steered Spain to the EU's single currency in 1999.)

The financial crisis? (Spain has the highest unemployment rate, almost 23%, of any of the 17 euro zone countries.)

The downgrading of Spanish debt? (Announced five days before he spoke)

These subjects were not on the agenda. Nor asked by the polite audience in the Q and A which followed his talk.

Prime Minister Aznar seemed to be stuck in the last decade, but not to belittle the threat of terrorism which is very real to Spain and which cost the nation 191 citizens when terrorists bombed the railroad in Madrid in 2004.

He talked about the unpopularity of making unpopular decision. (See Iraq.) And he spent several minutes on the widespread use of Spanish which is found in major American airports, he said.

He asked how many in the room spoke French. One "girl" raised her hand. And he may have said (his voice was soft spoken and the words, frequently hard to understand) that he had put Spanish vs. French on the table with the French president and, and, ?  I believe the point was Spanish is more prevalent worldwide than French.

Former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar/Patricia Leslie

He is 58, looks 48, is drop-dead handsome, and although his gloomy mood, grey words, and lack of enthusiasm would not make nice on the political stage here, Hollywood may want to get him on contract.

Aznar serves on the board of directors for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.  Wikipedia says Aznar has expressed doubt that climate change is a global problem, calling it "scientifically questionable' theory.

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